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Staff Writer

ZANESVILLE - Any team headed to the postseason wants to go on a positive note.

Rosecrans did that with tenacious man defense and solid shooting as the Bishops defeated Bishop Ready 54-44 to earn their first win in the Central Catholic League on Monday night.

"We try to stress defense. Most of the night it was there, but sometimes, we backed off a bit," Rosecrans coach Todd Rock said. "The important thing is we got the win."

The Bishops (1-9, 6-13) forced 12 Knight turnovers and held them to 18 of 49 for 40 percent shooting including four of 11 from 3. Rosecrans shot 20 of 42 for 48 percent including seven of 16 from 3. The Bishops knocked down seven of nine from the line and outrebounded the Knights, 31-27.

"We pushed the ball up well off rebounds and finally decided to play defense and forced them into bad decisions," senior guard Cody Kirkpatrick said.

Rosecrans started well as it took a 32-16 lead late in the second quarter thanks to consecutive 3s by Kirkpatrick and Josh Kohler. The Silver Knights answered with five straight to end the half as Mike Morgan hit a 3 and Michael Biggs scored, cutting the lead to 32-21.

The Silver Knights (9-13) rode the momentum into the second half. They scored nine straight while holding the Bishops scoreless for the first six minutes of the third quarter. Spencer Wade scored four and Morgan's drive through the lane cut the lead to 32-27. Adam Sever converted the three-point play to close to two, 32-30, at the 3:20 mark.

Then the Bishops found their shooting stroke. Kohler hit a short jumper and Kirkpatrick's hoop at the buzzer extended the lead to 36-31 entering the fourth. Then Kirkpatrick lobbed to a cutting Kyle Colopy two straight times to push the lead to seven, 40-33. Colopy's 3 with 6:10 remaining pushed the Bishops' lead to double digits, 43-33.

After Jared Lewis split a pair, Kirkpatrick hit his third 3 on the night for a 47-33 lead. After Biggs cut the lead back to 12, Lewis answered for a 49-35 lead and ended the Knights' chances.

Kirkpatrick did everything in his power to send the seniors out winners in their final home game. He scored 14 points and dished out four assists, but his presence was the difference.

"It seems like when one of us plays well, the whole team starts playing well," Kirkpatrick said. "It's always important (to win). It is good for team morale and gives us confidence heading into the tournament."

"We expect (Cody) to step up and do big things," Rock said. "He helped the team execute better."

Lewis, Kohler and Colopy finished with nine points each. Lewis led the team with nine rebounds while Colopy added four rebounds and three assists. Josh Agin scored five and pulled down five boards while Sean Pottmeyer contributed four rebounds.

Biggs and Morgan had 11 each for the Knights while Wade added seven in the loss.

The Bishops now enter tournament play as they face Bridgeport at 7 p.m. on Thursday night at OU-Eastern.